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On Saturday, a group of our Year 11 and Sixth Form students made it through to the National Finals Day of the Cambridge Schools Debating Competition. Students took part in four rounds of fiercely competitive debating, against schools such as Eton and Westminster. They had just 15 minutes to prepare for motions on religious influences on politics, the use of entrapment by police, the genetic enhancement of embryos and economic growth versus economic equality. Although we didn’t make it through to the grand final, it was a fantastic day for our students, with Hadi Hijazi and Brenda Muhiddin scoring a second place in two of their debates, and Sara Dehvari and Enilla Ansari taking first place in two of their debates.

We are incredibly proud of our students, seeing them achieve remarkable success over some very tough competition. They have worked very hard this year, organising debates every Wednesday lunch time, and encouraging our younger students to get involved in debating. They have shown a huge amount of dedication and enthusiasm to the Debating Society, despite the busy exam period.

This month we are also taking part in the Kings College London Debating competition, UCL Schools Debating competition, and Imperial Schools Debating competition.

Thank you to every member of staff who contributed to our debating events this year: the students really appreciate your support.

Some of KHS’ Year 7s took part in an initiative with the local primary schools, Brent and Veola getting involved in a litter programme. The students spend the afternoon in the areas surrounding the school clearing litter, making it a cleaner environment for everyone.
‘This is not about us,’ commented one of the students ‘it is about making Kingsbury nicer.’
The activity turned into a fun competition where everyone wanted to be the best litter picker and make the biggest impact on the environment they live in. Students have already asked to repeat the activity, which shows how much they care about their environment.

As Britain faces the political, constitutional and economic consequences of a decision to leave the European Union, Kingsbury High School Sixth Form students were offered a fascinating perspective on events during a talk and question-and-answer session with Dominic Grieve, Conservative MP for Beaconsfield. Mr Grieve was able to give an up-to-date commentary on the state of the parties following BREXIT and outline some of the problems that will have to be navigated in the months ahead. He fielded questions from students on a range of current issues, including the wisdom of holding the referendum, the ability of politicians to engage and educate the electorate, the importance of listening to younger voters and the implications of BREXIT for students. Mr Grieve stayed after the event to answer questions from individual students.

The MP was visiting the school as part of the Speakers for Schools initiative. A barrister since 1980 and now a QC, and an MP since 1997, Mr Grieve rose to prominence in the Conservative Party and held the most senior legal post in government, Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland, from May 2010 to July 2014, under the Coalition Government. He currently chairs the Intelligence and Security Committee in Parliament and is a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee, among many other commitments both within and outside Parliament. In the recent European Union referendum campaign he argued to “remain”.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Grieve said that “it was a great pleasure for me to come to Kingsbury High School to speak to the Sixth Form. The discussion was lively and timely in view of current events. It was very interesting for me to hear the views of the students.”

Students responded very favourably to Mr Grieve’s visit. Masuda found it “fascinating” to hear him talk about current events and was impressed that he “was not afraid to answer any questions put forward”. Minah found the visit “inspiring” and was pleased to have an opportunity to ask questions about some of the issues dominating the news headlines. Zaenab said: “It was a very insightful talk and a genuinely engaging conversation from a politician’s honest perspective.”

On Wednesday 27th January 2016 Ten Year 10 students joined students from other high schools in the borough to visit JFS School for their annual Holocaust Memorial Day Seminar.

The day included a talk by Mrs Renee Salt, 92 (a survivor of the Holocaust who lived through the horrors of the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen); a presentation by Ray Hill (former member of the British far-right BNP who became a well-known informant); and two sessions given by JFS Religious Education teacher, Miss Krieger, on the role of bystanders during the Holocaust and the moral dilemmas associated with the Holocaust.

The attending Kingsbury High students were particularly moved by Mrs Salt’s talk and commented, “It was amazing to hear first-hand the account of Mrs Salt, her story was so heart-breaking – but she was so keen to get her message across: stop hating others, and to try and live together in peace.”

“It is important we learn from the past, the Holocaust was a horrible event, millions died because of their beliefs – we must make sure we stand up to hate, just like Mrs Salt.”

English Language A
Religious Studies A
Extended Project Qualifiaction A*

Next StepLaw at UCL

Biggest Inspiration
“Teachers. Always the teachers. The support they have given me has been amazing. They provided me all the help I needed from start to finish. They always found extra time to help me during lunch, breaks and half term to mark my endless stream of papers and essays.”

Biggest Inspiration
“Being Head Boy, I found inspiration from all areas of Kingsbury High including sport, music, academic and community, but my biggest inspiration was Mr. Mitchell who always had time to support me.”

_____________

Natasha Mutungi

English Language B
Religious Studies B
Sociology A*

Next Step
Philosophy at Sheffield

Biggest Inspiration
“My Dad and Mum. Here’s my story – I lost my dad during December last year and during my exams I was grieving and constantly giving up. But the belief that my dad had in me kept me going. I just wanted to make him and my mum proud.”

_____________

Sophie Rozanski

Maths A
Biology A
Psychology A

Next Step
Psychology at Royal Holloway

Biggest Inspiration
“My sister because we’re really close and she looks up to me so I wanted her to be proud and want to follow in my footsteps.

I wanted to inspire her and do well so that she’s motivated to do well.”

Physical Education teacher Mr Froy completed an epic challenge over half-term raising thousands of pounds for Kidney Research UK in the process.

Mr Froy launched Challenge 271 on the 3rd December 2014: a year after the loss of his father, Colin Froy, Police Constable 271, Hertfordshire Police.

Challenge 271 saw Mr Froy run 42km from East Runton to Norwich City Football club on day one; cycle 73km from Norwich to Barton Mills on day two; run 42km from Barton Mills to Granta Park, Cambridge on day three; cycle 73km from Granta Park to Hitchin on day four and finally run 42km from Hitchin to Watford High Street on day five.

Mr Froy received a hero’s welcome as he crossed the finish line in Watford on Saturday 30th May. Family, friends, colleagues, students and the local community were there to cheer him on and greet him at the end of his long journey.

Over the past six months and during the challenge, with the support of friends, family, the local community and the Kingsbury High School community, Mr Froy has raised more than £21,000.

Mr Froy said “colleagues and close friends have been amazingly supportive at barn dancing, sponge throwing, football tournaments, ice cream sales, non-uniform days and staff raffles. I can’t thank you all enough for your time, money and support.”

A teacher at Kingsbury High School will embark on a gruelling challenge to cover 271km in just five days. The physical Education teacher, Gary Froy will run three 40km marathons and cycle two 75km bike rides to cover the distance.

The challenge aims to raise awareness and money for Kidney Research UK. Gary’s five day challenge, #challenge271, will take place during 26th – 30th May 2015, but Gary launched the project in school on the 3rd December 2014: a year after the loss of his father, Colin Froy, Police Constable 271, Hertfordshire Police.

Since the launch, Year 8 students have been holding mini fund raising projects within the school to help Gary on his way. The latest ‘Sponge the Staff!’ event took place on Friday 13th February 2015 in the lower school playground and raised a total of £145 which will go towards Challenge 271.

If you would like to support Gary or find out more, visit his justgiving page.